


Time Marches On

by grub



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, pre-quarter quell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 12:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4625556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grub/pseuds/grub
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sunsets on the Justice Building. Takes place after the events of the first book, and before the events of Catching Fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Marches On

An interesting thing about District 12 is that while the district was generally very ugly, Katniss could find a sort of comfort and beauty in the still and quiet none of the other districts had. This was true especially around 7:00 pm, when everyone had either gone home for the day or at least gone inside, but it was usually still early enough to catch the sunset. 

Katniss had stopped to watch it in the square with Peeta quite a few times. Although their relationship had been distant since the games, for whatever reason, he thought to ask her to watch with him one day, and she had shrugged and accepted without much thought. She liked watching the look on his face, his blue eyes fixated, but all the same calm, as he studied the colors; watching Peeta’s facial muscles contract and relax with curious attention was almost prettier than the thing itself. As much as Katniss hated to admit it, Peeta and the sunsets she spent with him had been a rare source of true calm and beauty since the Games. And it’s lucky, because it’s something Katniss would never have sought out on her own.

She’d have liked to go with Gale, but he seemed too far-away and angry lately, and Katniss didn’t want to deal with either the frustration of trying to comfort him nor the sorrow she felt in all but losing him. Besides, she doubted he’d really enjoy it. Covered in coal dust yet pale from being in the mines all day, it seemed he was on some other, unrecognizable plane. Katniss understood there must be a whirlwind of feelings inside Gale now, but she didn’t understand how to reach her old friend. It’s surreal to her that this Gale is the same person who, a year prior, had been the only real person she could understand. On top of this, the knowledge that the sunset was a proxy for some of the most powerful moments she had with Peeta, but would likely kindle nothing with Gale, made Katniss feel a guilt that made her insides go hollow. She felt helpless. When she thought about it, her head spun, and she had to stop.

Prim had only been with her to see it once. That day, Peeta wanted to watch with her, but she turned him down just so she could be alone with her sister. Prim probably would have enjoyed it if only she wasn’t so preoccupied. Although Prim made quiet comments on how she liked the colors, they seemed half-hearted and distracted. Katniss knew this wasn’t her fault; Prim’s knack for healing was needed at their mother’s makeshift clinic now more than ever, with nearly quadruple the patients coming in now compared to before the Games. Inexplicably, Katniss felt a bit like a failure when she looked at the thin girl whose pale skin and light blonde hair made her look ghostly. Katniss had gone through such lengths to protect her, but Prim has still had to shoulder so much responsibility at such a young age. It did make her proud; she was certainly rising to the occasion, and Katniss had noticed how working with their mother elicited such a visible passion in Prim that it even brought color to her cheeks. Still, it would have been nice to see her enjoy the sunset. After that, Katniss never asked her to go again.

Some of the best sunsets were with Madge. She was the only one who dared to scale the Justice Building, and it’s a shame, because the sunsets they saw from the tallest building in town were the most impressive. Once, Madge showed up for their rendezvous in a flouncy, blue dress. For someone who claimed not to be “interested in girly clothes,” Katniss couldn’t help noticing that Madge sure looked good in them. The skirt of her dress billowed in the breeze, allowing more leg to show than Standing in the chilly wind behind the Justice Building, Katniss’ eyebrows raised as Madge advanced towards her with a smile.

“Hey,” Katniss breathed, her tone oddly shaky. The partial loss of her voice took even herself by surprise.

Madge responded with a soft giggle and a small smile. “Hi, Katniss. Are you ready?”

Katniss nodded firmly in an attempt to regain composure.

It was 6:45. The two of them followed their normal route: up the fire escape stairway for the first two floors, then a rickety metal ladder up the third. To the untrained eye, the ladder would seem to be certain death; luckily, Madge trusted Katniss, who had more than enough practice testing sturdiness of tree branches). Katniss always insisted on Madge taking the lead, just in case she fell. However, Madge was usually wearing pants. At this point Katniss felt like a teenage boy. Why was she blushing? It’s not as if she’d never seen a girl’s panties. In fact, she’d seen plenty of girls stark naked; patients of her mother’s sprawled on the kitchen table. 

Madge pulled Katniss up on the roof at 6:50 and they both settled in their usual spots to watch the melding of colors in the sky. Although the roof was all pipes and concrete, the spots they had taken to seemed almost comfortable now. Madge stretched out her legs in front of her; Katniss folded her legs criss-cross. They pointed to various buildings on the landscape, recounting the events of the day, chatting softly. Katniss felt she was almost in a lull, relaxed to a point she hadn’t felt since her father was alive. She felt the wind jostling the braid on her back; seconds later she saw the same wind rustle Madge’s shoulder-length dark blonde waves. Madge’s eyelids drooped as she stared into the sky. Then, noticing Katniss’ silence, Madge turned suddenly, almost as if to check if Katniss was still there. She smiled, and Katniss made an effort to smile back. Even if she was so deep in thought, she wanted Madge to feel like she enjoyed her company. She wanted Madge to feel happy.

Maybe Katniss felt so—so whatever this was—because she trusted Madge. It’s no secret Katniss didn’t know a lot of people she could say she called trusted friends. But why would a friendship make her feel guilty? Because, she realized at 6:55, she did feel guilty. She felt the same type of guilt that would creep up on her whenever Peeta made some remark referencing his undying love for her. Madge shifted, folding her legs to one side, and laid her head on Katniss’ shoulder.

Katniss’ confusion melted away, and simultaneously the explanation for everything she was feeling set in. Katniss felt like hot wax was dripping down over her body; confusion and unease replaced with equally intense stomach-turns and oddly pleasurable fear. Shaky and excited, what she did next came naturally. Katniss put her arm around Madge without thinking. Katniss felt Madge’s muscles relax even more. At 6:57 Katniss started to stroke Madge’s soft, thick hair, feeling just as tentative about this than ever, but if Madge didn’t approve she made no indication. Katniss admired the soft orange-pink glow that reflected off Madge’s round cheeks.

“Your skin is really beautiful.” Katniss sighed. “I hope that’s the right thing to say. I like you, Madge.”

Madge squeezed Katniss’ hand. “Yeah, I like you too.” At 6:58, she turned her head to look up at Katniss, her face halfway concealed by Katniss’ puffy jacket. “Thanks for this,” she added, and the expression she was wearing was as genuinely joyful and pure as a baby laughing for the first time.

She must have been waiting for this for a very long time. Katniss started to wonder if this situation was like the one with Peeta. Had Madge loved her since they were little? But she couldn’t think of Peeta right now, at 6:59. Right now she felt stupid, and full of adrenaline, and overcome with the desire to make Madge Undersee feel as wonderful and important as she was.

As the world enveloped them in purple and blue, Katniss held Madge by her shoulders and kissed her on the lips.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first fic, so it means a lot to me that you read it! Thank you so much. Have a great day.


End file.
